


Banks

by SneetchesToo



Category: Code Black (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon Divergent, F/M, Pre Relationship, Romance, ethan’s just being ethan, jesse and mike are evil friends, leanne’s obsessed, these two i swear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-18
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:35:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26529850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SneetchesToo/pseuds/SneetchesToo
Summary: I wanna hold you close but never hold you back,Just like the banks to the river.And if you ever feel like you are not enough,I’m gonna break all your mirrors.I wanna be there when the darkness closes in,To make the truth a little clearer.“Banks” by Needtobreathe
Relationships: Leanne Rorish & Ethan Willis, Leanne Rorish & Jesse Sallander, Leanne Rorish/Ethan Willis
Comments: 34
Kudos: 29





	1. The Set Up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pretty_bird](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pretty_bird/gifts).



> *This is set right before season 2 starts and is clearly not 100% canon. As of right now it’s 5 chapters that go through the end of the first episode. I may or may not continue it throughout the whole season.

Leanne wasn't one to go out.

She didn't frequent the bar near the hospital like the other doctors did.

She didn't go out for drinks or dancing.

She didn't try to find some hottie at the bar to hook up with.

No, she was more of a homebody.

She enjoyed a simple meal and a long bath and a cheesy romance novel.

She'd fall asleep before 10:00pm and be completely content with herself.

And that was why she was shocked when she found herself agreeing to go out for drinks with Jesse and Mike after a particularly long shift.

Their first shift without Neal and Christa.

Their first shift at the start of their second year with Mario and Angus and Malaya by their sides.

It had been a weird day if you had asked her.

“You still with us there daddy?” Mike’s joking tone broke through the racket in her head and she shook herself back to the present, a small smile on her face as she watched him raise an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Sorry.” She took a sip of her beer as she tried to come up with an excuse for zoning out on them.

But she couldn't come up with one.

“Don't look now,” Jesse nudged her arm with his elbow as he spoke and she couldn't help but nudge him back, “but someone's got eyes for you…”

“For me?” She gestured to herself as she offered him a look.

Clearly he was mistaken.

She knew just about everyone that frequented this bar.

And while she wasn't here often, she knew that the atmosphere wasn't the most inviting to outsiders.

“Oh yeah.” Mike waggled his eyebrows at her and she punched his arm lightly. “Handsome guy too.”

“Oh hush!” She knew the two of them were just messing with her but she wanted to see for herself what the ruckus was about.

So she turned slowly in her chair, scanning the room for an unfamiliar face that she could attach this story too.

“I've never seen him around here before.” Jesse whispered.

“Who are you talking about?!” She didn't see anyone she didn't recognize.

And she certainly didn't see anyone who appeared to be checking her out.

“He's at the bar.” Mike added, a humorous tone to his words. “Jeans, leather jacket.”

And that's when Leanne saw him, the man in the jeans and the leather jacket with the military haircut and the sloppy smile.

He wasn't even trying to hide the fact that he was staring at her and when he caught her eyes with his he winked.

“I think he's onto you.” Mike whispered as she turned back toward the table. “And into you.”

She glared at the younger man as Jesse waved his hand in the man’s direction.

“If you invite him over here I will kill you in your sleep.” She hissed out, her hand tightening around her bottle as she felt her heart to start to race.

“If he's new here,” Jesse smiled and she saw him nod before turning back to the table, “then we should be welcoming.”

“Since when?” She didn't want to be welcoming.

Not here.

Not now.

Not with this handsome stranger.

“Oh come on Leanne.” Mike’s sing songy voice made her want to vomit.

They may have been her two best friends, but she was ready to murder them both.

“You must be new here?” She slammed her eyes shut at Jesse words, and then even more so as she felt a body stop beside her.

“Just moved to town.” She was holding her breath now and when she heard the chair beside her pull out she inwardly cursed her supposed best friends.

“Where ya from?” Mike asked, his foot kicking her leg under the table.

She knew he was trying to get her to pay attention to what was going on.

But she also knew that he and Jesse were trying to hook her up with this total stranger.

And she'd be damned if that happened.

“Uh everywhere, nowhere…” His voice was soft and sweet and mysterious and she couldn't help but snap her eyes open as she turned to him.

“Are you a serial killer or something?” The question left her mouth before she knew what she was saying and she was thankful that he just chuckled instead of flipping out.

“Not quite.” He smiled at her and her goddamn heart about jumped out of her chest. “Army.”

“Close enough.” She muttered.

She had no problem with the Army.

Why was she acting like she did?

“What she means is, welcome…” Jesse shot her a dirty look and she huffed.

“Thanks.” This new guy didn’t seem to bothered by her behavior and when Mike raised an eyebrow at her she felt herself sink into her chair. “It’s good to be here.”

“Are you a doctor?” Leanne said a silent prayer that he answered ‘no’.

“Yeah. I was with the Army Medical Core, in Afghanistan.” He took a swig of his drink and that was when it hit Leanne that she didn’t even know this guys name. “Did a lot of field work actually, surgery, not to many people over there keen on getting shot at while stitching someone’s side back together.”

“Interesting…” Jesse gave her a look that said she should probably get to talking.

“I need to use the restroom.” But she excused herself instead.

When she returned ten minutes later Jesse and Mike were nowhere to be found.

But the mystery man was still sitting at their table, a fresh beer in his hands as he raised an eyebrow at her.

“Your friends ‘had an emergency’.” She could tell that he knew that her friends were full of shit.

“They’re not really my friends…” Which was a load of bull because they were her best friends, but if they were trying to do what she thought they were trying to do…

Man they weren’t going to be her friends any more.

“I’m Ethan by the way.” He extended his right hand to her and offered her a smile. “I realized while you were gone that I didn’t even know your name.”

She stared him down for a second before reaching out and shaking his hand softly.

“Leanne.” She didn’t make a move to sit down yet though, her eyes studying the face of this very handsome not-so-much-a-stranger anymore.

“Well, Leanne,” He offered her a smile that made her weak in the knees and she couldn’t help but move to sit down across from him, “it’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too.” She realized then that he had yet to let go of her hand and she inhaled sharply when he squeezed it, his eyes twinkling under the low light of the bar.

She was in trouble and she knew it.


	2. The Morning After

Leanne was late.

Very, very late.

And she was never late.

Never.

In fact, she was always early.

Something that had driven her husband and kids insane.

Something that bugged her perpetually late best-friend to no end.

But alas, she was always early.

Except for today.

No, today she was late.

And for what reason she wasn’t entirely sure.

“Fuck.” She muttered the word under her breath as she tried to pull her jeans on while stumbling around in the dark.

Her foot made contact with an object that she didn’t normally stumble upon on the way to the bathroom.

And when she looked up, the bathroom was not in the direction it should have been in.

“Oh for fuck’s sake.” She couldn’t believe it.

The object she had bumped into was a dresser.

A dresser that was not hers.

In a bedroom that she had never seen before.

She wasn’t at home and she couldn’t fathom why.

“You alright?” The sound of a very sleepy, very sexy voice coming from behind her made her jump.

That would explain why she wasn’t at home.

Ethan. Fucking. Willis.

The man had charmed her pants off last night, figuratively, and apparently, also literally.

“Yeah.” She huffed her response but when she tried to straighten herself up and move forward she stumbled again, this time hitting her shoulder on the dresser she was trying to avoid.

“That doesn’t like it.” She heard his feet hit the floor and then there was a hand on her arm as he guided her back to the bed. “Sit still and let me check that shoulder.”

She growled as tried to shrug out of his grasp but he stood his ground.

And then she noticed that he was only wearing a pair of boxers, and nothing else.

And it all came flooding back.

The shots of tequila.

The dancing and the hand holding.

The soft ‘let’s get out of here’ that he had whispered against her ear in the middle of a impromptu make out session in the alley.

She had gone home with him.

And judging by the lack of clothing on both of them.

They had had sex.

“Did we have sex last night?” She was such a moron.

Here she was, dressed in nothing but her underwear and what she could only assume was his t-shirt, and she was asking if they had had sex.

Of course they had had sex.

She was a grown woman.

She knew what the morning after looked like.

“Yeah…” He stopped examining her shoulder and pulled back, his face barely visible in the darkness of the room. “I promise it was consensual…”

Oh she knew it was consensual.

After all the making out and the hand holding and the closeness, she was sure that she had wanted to have sex with him.

“I know.” She felt kind of stupid in that moment, like a teenager or at the very least, a very inexperienced adult. “Sorry… I wasn’t trying to imply…”

He certainly didn’t seem like the type to take advantage of a woman anyway.

“It’s okay.” He patted her thigh as he sat down beside her. “I get it.”

Well at least he got it.

“I should go…” She was going to be late for work and Jesse was going to know why and he was going to kill her.

“You don’t have too…” His hand moved a little further up her thigh and she shot him a look that she doubted he could see. “Come back to bed.”

As inviting as that sounded, she couldn’t.

“I have a shift.” He squeezed her thigh then and moved to settle back against the pillows.

“Suit yourself.” She watched as he turned the bedside lamp on and offered her a smirk. “Don’t run into the dresser this time.”

She rolled her eyes as she stood, reaching down for her pants and pulling them on with a huff.

“You can shower if you want.” Now, Leanne hadn’t had many one night stands, in fact, this was her first one, but she was fairly certain that most men didn’t offer up their shower afterward.

“I’m good.” A shower sounded fabulous but she had thirty minutes to make it to the hospital.

And then it hit her.

She didn’t even know where she was.

“My Jeep’s downstairs, keys are on the table.” He shot her a look as she pulled his shirt over her head and grabbed her bra from it’s spot in the hallway. “Take it.”

“You’re just gonna let me steal your car?” She huffed out as she turned back toward him. “And where’s my shirt?”

“You’re not stealing my car.” He said with a smirk. “I’m offering to let you borrow it.”

“And how will you get it back?” She grabbed her phone off his nightstand and shoved in her back pocket, choosing to ignore the seven texts from Jesse for the moment.

“I know where you work…” So he was stalking her? “You told me last night, you work at Angels…”

“Right…” She didn’t remember that part, but she didn’t doubt that it had slipped out at some point.

“Take it.” He let out a yawn as he flopped down on the bed. “I’ll call an Uber or something and come get it later. You work in the ER right?”

“Yeah…” Every fiber of her being was aching to crawl back into bed with this delicious sight of a man and it was killing her being so wholly devoted to that damn hospital.

“I’ll see you later then.” He offered her a wink and then he was closing his eyes and relaxing. “Your shirt is downstairs, probably in the foyer. Lock up before you go please.”

She let out a huff as she forced her feet to start walking, her body refusing to cooperate with her mind.

She was slowly starting to remember just how amazing last night had been and now all she wanted to do was to repeat it.

Over and over and over again.


	3. Jesse Knows

Leanne was in fact, late for work.

And she hadn’t showered, or combed her hair, or brushed her teeth.

And it showed.

So when she arrived at Angels and no one seemed the wiser, including Jesse, she had slipped into the locker room and taken a quick shower.

And then she had brushed her hair and her teeth and had even take a few minutes to examine herself in the mirror.

“You’ve got a…” She jumped as she heard Jesse’s voice from behind her.

“Jesse!” She couldn’t believe he would sneak up on her like that.

But then again, it was Jesse.

“Might wanna cover that up.” That was when she noticed what he was gesturing at.

A hickey.

A nice, red, hickey.

Ethan. Fucking. Willis.

He was officially a dead man.

“Have fun last night with the mystery man?” Jesse raised an eyebrow as she pulled her top over her head and exchanged it for another one.

However, that one didn’t cover up the spot either.

So instead she pulled her hair down from the ponytail that she had just put it in and sighed as she tried to place it just right in order to cover up the mark.

“Sure.” She really didn’t need to give him details did she?

“You weren’t at the bar when Mike and I came back.” He was so full of shit.

“You two didn’t come back.” She shot him a nasty look as she turned to face him, her arms crossing over his chest.

“Did you go home with him?” She hated how Jesse just cut right to the chase sometimes. “I mean, those are the clothes that you were wearing last night… and that hickey, it took some work…”

She cursed under her breath as she grabbed her dirty clothes and shoved them into her duffle bag.

She couldn’t believe she had been busted doing the walk of shame by her best friend.

She was forty two years old dammit.

She knew better.

“Yes Jesse,” But lying would only make things worse for her. “I went home with him.”

“Wow.” He genuinely seemed surprised by that and she rolled her eyes as she moved toward her locker, shoving the bag inside with a groan. “I didn’t expect that one.”

“What?” She turned to face him once more but she couldn’t bring herself to be defensive with him this time around. “We did a few shots, we danced…”

“You kissed…?” Of course they kissed, she wasn’t stupid.

“Yes Jesse, we kissed.” And damn had they kissed, all night long.

“Was it good?” She raised an eyebrow at him and he chuckled. “The kissing? The sex? Was it at least good?”

“Oh for Christ’s sake Jesse!” She closed her eyes as she let her head fall back against the locker. “Can we talk about this another time?”

“So you did have sex?” Why was he so invested in her sex life all of a sudden, or rather, her lack thereof? 

“Yes Jesse, we slept together.” Saying it out loud made her feel a little dirty and she didn’t know why.

Maybe because she hadn’t had sex with someone in over six years.

Maybe because the only person she had ever had sex with before last night had been her husband.

And while she loved her husband, he had never been able to make her feel like that.

“Was it good?” Which Jesse knew, which was probably why he was suddenly so interested in the details.

“Very.” She wouldn’t lie, it wasn’t worth it.

The sex had been phenomenal.

Or, at least, the sex that she could remember had been.

The night was still coming to her in waves and she didn’t feel like that was entirely fair either.

“Good.” He smirked at her as he turned around and walked out of the locker room, leaving her standing all alone with nothing but her thoughts.

He was up to something and she hated it.

Because where there was Jesse, there was normally always trouble.


	4. Second Year

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Clearly this is not 100% canon.  
> **Robbie isn’t dead, don’t come at me.  
> ***Campbell is still a jerk though.

Ethan was no stranger to awkward situations.

No, rather, he thought he probably got thrown into more than his fair share of them.

But he always handled them gracefully, or at least he thought he did.

That was until he pulled up in front of the large stone building that matched the address on his GPS.

Angels Memorial Hospital.

That name sounded eerily familiar.

But he was certain that it was just because his CO had mentioned it multiple times on the phone.

He had parked his bike in a space, showed his ID to the clerk at the door, receiving a rather flirtatious smile from the girl who was probably young enough to be his daughter, and then he had made his way inside.

“Fancy meeting you here.” He recognized that voice and it took him a minute to realize why.

“Hey, Mike right?” He remembered meeting the guy at the bar last night.

The guy who had abandoned him alone with his very attractive friend.

The attractive friend that he had done shots with and danced with and had then taken home.

The attractive friend who had been attempting to stumble her way out his bedroom in the dark early this morning.

And then hit him.

Angels Memorial Hospital.

It sounded so familiar because it was where she had told him she worked.

Where his Jeep would be parked and he where he was planning to meet her after her shift.

Which she may or may not have told him ended about the same time as his.

Fuck.

If there was ever an awkward situation he didn’t want to be in, this was it.

“Yeah, Mike Leighton.” Mike extended his hand and offered him a friendly yet knowing smile. “It’s good to see ya again man!”

“Good to see you too.” He knew that Mike knew who he was and he just prayed that this didn’t become even more awkward than it already was.

“I was just about to head out on a call.” Mike gestured toward the elevator behind him and shrugged. “Wanna tag along?”

“Uh… sure.” He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to just up and leave like that, he was sure there was a supervisor he was supposed to check in with. “I should probably check in with someone though right?”

“Nah it’s fine.” He watched as the other man pulled out his phone and typed something out real quick before shoving it back in his pocket. “I let Campbell know you’re with me. Besides, I oversee the residents.”

“I’m not a resident.” He wasn’t entirely sure what his title at the hospital was, but he knew damn well he was well past that haunting phase. “I’m with the DOD.”

“Same difference.” Mike clapped him on the back before pushing the button to go upward. “Come on, it’ll be fun! Shark attack! Best way to start off your first day here.”

He couldn’t argue with that one.

They certainly didn’t get many shark attacks in Afghanistan.

“Alright fine.” He tried to sound perturbed but it was the opposite. 

He was thrilled to finally see some action.

His CO had made sure to make him suffer through three weeks of paperwork and seminars before sending him here.

He was being punished and he knew it.

But he was finally being given the opportunity for some action, and he wasn’t going to turn it down.

—

The flight was going fine, all things considering, until he made the mistake of mentioning all the tequila he drank the night before.

Mike had raised an eyebrow in his direction and smirked.

“Leanne hates tequila.” He knew he had one of two options here.

He could either act like he didn’t know what Mike was talking about and shrug it off with a ‘who’s Leanne?’ or he could admit to knowing exactly who she was and attempt to get some information out of the other man.

It may have been a one night stand, but from the looks of it, he was going to be seeing a lot of her from here on out.

“I know.” He smirked back when Mike just shook his head with a chuckle.

“She tell you she works at Angels?” He must have been surprised that Ethan had gotten as far as he had with her.

It made him wonder if he knew that he had taken her home last night.

“Yeah, sort of.” That was a lie, she had flat out told him that she worked at Angels. “She took my car this morning…”

Mike’s eyes went wide and he moved his mouth like he was going to speak but no words came out.

“She…?” Ethan guessed that he didn’t know that they had spent the night together last night. “Well I’ll be damned Leanne.”

Ethan laughed as Mike broke down into a literal fit of giggles.

“She told me the car belonged to her neighbor.” So she hadn’t told anyone about last night?

That was probably for the best if they were going to be working together.

“Nah, it’s mine.” He wasn’t going to give away any more information unless Mike asked for it.

“So you two spent the night together then?” He nodded his head as he watched the chopper start it’s descent toward the beach. “She left that part out.”

“Yeah, I’m not surprised.” He really hadn’t expected it to be public news, not with the way Leanne had reacted when she found herself in a stranger’s bedroom that morning.

Mike got ready to speak again when the pilot indicated that they were coming in for their landing so he simply offered Ethan a nod and then it was business as usual.

————————————————————

Leanne was pissed.

Oh boy was she pissed.

Whoever this new Army guy was, he was asking for it.

Dragging Mike out into the field, without permission…

He was going to have to pry her shoe from his ass whenever she had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting him.

And then Campbell was lecturing her on how he was the new ER director and how he was in charge and it all started to run together.

All the tequila she had drunk last night was coming back to haunt her.

But she wouldn’t let the residents see it and she sure as fuck wouldn’t let Campbell see it.

So she swallowed down her pride, and maybe a little bit of the blueberry muffin she had managed to scarf down this morning, and she had gotten to work.

But by God if that Army guy came in here looking all smug, well she was just going to have to give him a piece of mind too.

—

When the chopper had arrived on the roof though there was no sign of Mike.

Or the Army guy.

And Leanne felt a knot form in her stomach.

“The Army guy, Willis, he’s with him, that’s all I know.” The words rang through Leanne’s ears like a shotgun blast.

Willis?

The Army?

It couldn’t be.

Could it?

“Angus, go to dispatch,” All she could think about was keeping Angus from losing his mind, even if hers was slowly going too, “see what you can find out about your brother.”

And then the elevator doors were closing behind her and she let out a breath as she closed her eyes for a second.

“You said the Army guy went back for Dr. Leighton?” She needed more details and she needed them now.

“Colonel Willis.” Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. “He jumped into the ocean, like some kind of goddamn superhero. We took off before he reached the shore though.”

He had gone back for Mike.

Which meant that he probably remembered Mike from last night.

Either that or he was just a decent human being.

But either way, that said something.

And it wasn’t something that she really wanted said about the man that she was supposed to be hating.

“I’m sure Mike’s fine.” Mario whispered, eyeing her softly as he did his best to keep the girl’s legs stables.

She nodded her head because she couldn’t make words form.

Sure she was worried about Mike, he was her best-friend after all.

But she was also worried about running into Ethan again.

Sure she knew he would come for his Jeep eventually.

But she was planning to just leave the keys at the nurse’s station and vanishing into thin air before he arrived.

She didn’t get the chance to think through the rest though because the next thing she knew the elevator doors were opening and they were arriving in Center Stage, Jesse appearing out of thin air on the other side of the gurney.

“Mike Leighton, took a 20 foot drop out of a helicopter.” She whispered the words to the other man as she tried to stop her heart from racing.

The first pulse you always took in the ER was your own.

And right now, hers was off the charts.

—

Less than twenty minutes later she heard it.

The soft, sweet, sexy voice that had lured her into doing shots and dancing and having sex with a complete stranger.

She couldn’t help but swing her head around at the sound, her body freezing at the sight of him.

It was him alright.

Her handsome mystery man was also her Army guy.

And dammit if she thought he looked good under the low light of the bar last night, she was mistaken.

“He’s got increased pressure on his brain…” Those words should never, ever, in the history of ever, sound like that.

She shook her head and snapped herself out of it before ordering Risa to get him the tools that he needed to save Mike’s life.

And then before she knew it she was telling Malaya to switch with her and suddenly she was face to face with the man she swore she’d never see again.

“Now step off…” She heard the tension in the Colonel’s voice and while she understood Angus’ grief and torment, she knew that they needed to act fast if they were going to save his brother’s life at all.

“Angus, let him do what he needs to do.” And then he was drilling a hole into her best-friend’s head and suddenly she felt like she was going to pass out.

There were entirely too many emotions flying around this place right now and she couldn’t handle it.

But she took a deep breath and tried her best to focus on the task at hand.

Saving Mike.

Because whether she knew this Colonel Willis well or not, she did know that he had risked his own life to save that of her friend’s, and she wouldn’t let it be in vain.

—

She knew she couldn’t avoid him forever.

They were bound to run into each other.

Angels may have been a big hospital, but the ER was nothing compared to the rest of the building.

Besides, she needed to take her patient back from him.

But first she allowed herself a minute to watch him with Kaya, her eyes studying his every move, her ears straining to hear his every word.

Last night he had been calm and suave and dare she say it, but he was downright perfect.

And now, here he was tearing up her ER and stealing her patients.

At least he looked damn good doing it.

“Colonel Willis.” It felt weird to say his name that way, last night he had been Ethan, when she could find the words to speak that was. “Can we have a word please?”

He didn’t hesitate to walk away from the girl’s bedside, making his way toward her with a soft smile.

She prayed that he at least had it in him to behave himself and act professional.

This was the one place she refused to let her guard down.

“Please, let’s loose the Colonel.” Oh she could loose the title all right, especially if he made himself stand any closer to her.

She could smell his soap mixed with the scent of the hospital’s laundry detergent and iodine.

It was not a scent that should have made her insides tingle, and yet…

“Sounds like you’re talking about an old man in a nursing home.” He was anything but an old man and judging by last night, he had a long way to go before he reached there.

She caught herself chuckling and the smile that broke out across his face told her that she’d been busted.

He knew that she was thinking about him in ways that were far beyond professional.

Dammit she was going to kill Jesse for this.

——————————————————

Ethan could be professional.

He had to be a professional.

But damn watching the way Leanne smiled when she talked to him about his patient, the way she was trying so desperately to pretend she was mad at him, so desperately trying not to flirt with him, it was all doing something to him.

He couldn’t deny that she was a beautiful woman.

And after last night, he knew damn well that those scrubs were doing her no justice at all.

But then Kaya was coding and he proposed doing the surgery right then and there and she looked at him like he was batshit crazy.

“Come on, you with me on this?” And perhaps he was batshit crazy, but he wasn’t about to let this girl die while she waited for an OR.

“Game on.” Damn he knew he liked her for a reason.

—

“You are responsible…” Angus’ words repeated over and over again in his head like the words to a bad country song.

They stung in all the wrong places.

He had been down this road before, but it had been so long since someone had blamed him to his face.

Normally once he fixed up a patient, be it a fellow solider or a civilian, he never saw them again.

If they survived, great, they could go through the rest of their life thanking the random soldier who saved them from death while being shot at from all angles.

And if they didn’t survive, their body was shipped home to their families and no one was the wiser as to who’s hands hadn’t been able to save them.

But here, here in an actual hospital, in the second largest city in the country, he was surrounded by patient’s families.

Including his colleagues.

Including this kid who thought he had something to do with his brother falling out of a helicopter.

If he knew anything about being a brother though, he knew that it wasn’t always easy, and that fighting for your brother’s life was the hardest thing possible.

But he was certain that Mike would be okay, he knew he had to be okay, and he would do whatever he had to do to make sure of it.

—

To top it all off, the male patient from the shark attack had died.

Leaving his patient grieving and sad.

And fighting with her sister.

He knew those feelings all to well.

Which is why he knew that he had to help her through this.

Jayden didn’t deserve to suffer alone and neither did Kaya.

“She’s your sister,” He whispered the words as he felt something inside him start to break, “she’s the only one who will get what you’re feeling.”

He knew that was true because when he had lost his mom at that age, his brother had been the only one to share in his grief.

Not his father or his grandparents or his aunt.

No, just his brother.

Because no matter how different siblings were, at the core, they shared a bond that not even death could break.

So he had wheeled her to one of the family rooms and left her by her sister’s side and he waited.

Waited to see if she would make the move to comfort her sister.

Waited to see if they would help put each other back together.

Their whispered ‘I love yous’ made his heart ache and he bit his lip as he watched them lay together.

It inspired him to go check on another set of siblings that he knew was struggling, his heart pounding in his chest at the sound of the ventilator helping keep his new friend Mike alive.

“It’s not your fault.” Angus’ voice broke through the silence and he paused in his steps, turning toward the younger man with a pensive look. “I’m sorry I blamed you.”

“You had every right to.” He really didn’t take it that hard, he had been there, blaming doctors when his mom died, blaming them when they didn’t seem to want to save his brother, he got it.

“No I didn’t.” Angus rose from his chair and stepped toward him as he spoke and he almost wanted to step back and run. “You were doing the right thing.”

“Sometimes that doesn’t absolve us of the consequences.” The doctors had been doing the right thing when they stopped further medical treatment on his mother and let her disease take over, eventually killing her.

But they had been wrong about Robbie.

He was worth saving.

And if it hadn’t been for Ethan being the stubborn bastard that he was, his brother probably wouldn’t still be alive today.

“We haven’t officially met yet,” He watched as the young man stuck his hand out and offered him a smile, “I’m Angus.”

“Ethan.” He shook his hand proudly, thankful that he wasn’t turning out to be an enemy like he had originally thought. 

And then Angus was returning to his brother’s side and Ethan walked away with a sigh.

Huffing at Campbell’s words as he tried to act all tough, acting like he was trying to figure him out.

He knew better than to trust him though, that much he had learned.


	5. Round Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I have more chapters in the works so here’s hoping it happens.

“Rough day…” He was shocked to hear the familiar voice from behind him as he took a sip of his second drink of the night.

“That’s an understatement.” He whispered, downing the swig of whiskey like it was water.

If today was any indication of how the next two years were going to go, he was going to drink himself into oblivion before it was over.

“That’s how it is sometimes.” He nodded his head as he waited for her to move to join him, but she didn’t.

Instead she stood just to his left, her body remaining still as her breathing softened.

“Come here to watch me drink myself silly?” It’s not like he was an alcoholic or anything, but damn had today hurt, and damn if this whiskey wasn’t wiping some of that hurt away.

“I came to say ‘welcome’.” He turned to face her and raised an eyebrow at the smile she offered him.

“Welcome?” What the hell could she possibly be welcoming him to?

And hadn’t she done enough of that welcoming last night?

Or two nights ago?

He wasn’t even really sure what day it was anymore.

“Yeah, welcome.” She patted his shoulder and moved to turn around but he reached out and grabbed her hand in his, pulling her to him in one swift motion.

“Stay.” He all but pleaded, his eyes settling on her face as he tried to silently convince her that she was much better off over here with him than wherever it was that she came from.

“I can’t…” She was so full of shit and he knew it.

“You still have my Jeep.” He wanted to lean down and kiss her right then and there.

But he knew that the bar was crowded and full of people who now knew that they worked together, so it probably wouldn’t be his wisest move.

“Then I’ll give you a ride a home.” If only she’d stay the night, again.

“How will you get home?” It was a genuinely good question.

“I’ll call an Uber.” Her answer didn’t suck and he felt himself pouting.

“Then you could just call an Uber from the bar and I can drive myself home…” He was making total sense, wasn’t he?

“I’m not letting you drive home.” Dammit she was a responsible woman. “I’ve been watching you, I know you’re nowhere near sober enough for that.”

He muttered a few cuss words under his breath but judging by her eye roll she heard him all the same.

“Fine.” He grabbed his glass and downed the rest of the drink, feeling the burn as he closed his eyes for a second.

He certainly hadn’t planned on tonight ending like this.

Not by a long shot.

Leanne had had absolutely no intention of taking Ethan home when she had seen him sitting at the bar.

And she had no intention of taking him home after his second beer, or his second shot.

But when he made it to his second glass of whiskey she knew she had to step in.

He had been flirty and uncertain and trying to get under her skin, but she remained as calm and cool as she could.

And then she had escorted him outside to his car, climbing into the front seat as he glared at her from his spot beside the car.

“I’ll just leave you here.” She really didn’t want to do that though because obviously this man was hurting.

And even if she had only known him less than 48 hours, something about him was damn addicting.

And she wasn’t even referring to the sex.

“Fine.” He climbed in and put his seat belt on before pouting the rest of the way to his place.

She had walked him to the front door and helped him inside and then she was turning to make her leave.

But Ethan apparently had other plans because the next thing she knew he was pushing her against the closed door and his lips were on hers and suddenly every cell was on fire.

“Ethan…” His name came out as more of a moan than she intended for it too and she closed her eyes as he pulled back and moved his lips to her neck.

It felt so damn good.

But it was so damn wrong and she knew it.

“Ethan!” She gently pushed him back some, her hands placing themselves firmly on his chest as she tried to catch her breath. “Stop.”

He looked confused and then humiliated and then lost.

She knew that his hormones were being fueled by the stress of the day and the large amount of alcohol in his system, but she refused to do this to herself again.

One night stands weren’t her thing.

If he wanted to be with her again, he wasn’t going to just fuck around with her.

Figuratively or literally.

“I’m…” He stepped back a few steps and ran his hands through his hair. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine.” She whispered.

He got ready to argue but she reached out and grabbed his shaking hands in hers.

“It’s fine. Just…” She took a deep breath as she watched every emotion in the book travel across his face. “Not like this. Not…”

“I get it.” He nodded his head as he took a deep breath.

“You’re drunk Ethan.” He might not have been acting like a raging drunk, or even a sloppy drunk, but she knew he wasn’t thinking rationally and that the alcohol wasn’t helping.

“I know.” Well at least he was man enough to admit it. “I’m sorry. I just… damn I really like you.”

She probably shouldn’t have chuckled at those words but she did, quickly regretting it when he snapped his eyes up to hers and frowned.

“I like you too.” The words left her lips before she could stop herself and she was instantly furious.

She couldn’t believe she had told him that.

All of this was entirely new territory to her and it scared her.

But then he was reaching out and cupping her face softly in his hands and his lips were pressing against hers as he poured a lot more emotion into the kiss than she expected.

“Stay the night?” She knew that he didn’t mean it in any way other than probably not wanting to be alone, but still.

“No.” She whispered against his cheek before pressing a kiss to it. “I’m gonna get Jesse to come pick me up.”

He let out a sigh as he pulled back, his right hand going back to ruffle through his messy hair.

“I’m off tomorrow.” She didn’t really know where she was going with this but at this point she figured they had already done the hard part, why not start at the beginning. “Why don’t we have lunch, or dinner?”

“Like a date?” He looked a little too pleased with himself for that comment and she rolled her eyes. 

“Like two people getting to know each other.” Which is exactly what a date was, but he didn’t need to know that’s what she was thinking.

“Which is a date…” He was on to her and she hated it.

“Fine. A date.” As long as he didn’t go around telling anyone else about this she’d be fine and dandy with the whole thing. “But you tell no one.”

“Ashamed of me already?” He gently backed her against her door, his hands going to her hips as he pressed a kiss to her neck, his lips finding the sweet spot at the junction of her shoulder.

“Campbell’s a dick.” She barely got the words out because if there was anything this man knew how to do, it was make her weak in the knees with a simple kiss to the right patch of skin. “He doesn’t approve of inter-office relationships of any kind. He barely even tolerates us being friends.”

“Well he can kiss my ass.” There were many, many things that she liked about Ethan, but that comment right there probably did her in.

“I’ll give you $50 if you say that to his face.” She watched as he pulled back and raised an eyebrow.

“Stay the night with me and I’ll call him and tell him right now.” Damn he was good.

Really, really good.

“Not tonight Ethan.” Saying it like that made it sound like there would be other nights.

“Well hopefully some other time then?” She certainly hoped so.

“Yes, some other time.” She nodded her head as she reached behind her to fish her phone from her pocket. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to explain this to Jesse.”

“Does he know it’s me?” She figured that Jesse had caught on even though she hadn’t actually talked to him about it yet.

He had met Ethan in the bar that night.

He had introduced them and then run away like a coward.

And he was more than aware of the fact that Leanne had spent the night with the man.

So he had to know that their new Army guy was also her handsome mystery man.

“I’m sure he figured it out.” Ethan raised an eyebrow at her and she chuckled, looking down at the phone to text Jesse the address. “We haven’t exactly had a chance to talk since he saw me this morning.”

“This morning?” Dammit now she was going to have explain to him how his handy work had given them away.

“He noticed the rather unattractive hickey you gave me…” He made an ‘oooops’ face and stifled back a laugh. “Thank goodness he caught it though.”

“Sorry. I’ll get better about that.” She never said he would be allowed anywhere near her like that again had she?

“Uh huh.” But she knew better.

She was falling for him, dangerously falling for him, and she honestly didn’t want to stop.

“Go to bed Ethan.” She gestured toward the stairs, sighing when he shook his head back and forth. “Why not?”

“I wanna see the look on Jesse’s face when he realizes who’s house he’s picking you up from.” He was grinning from ear to ear and she could’ve slapped that smug look off his face if he also weren’t so damn adorable.

“Fine.” She crossed her arms over her chest as she stood her ground. “But stay over there.”

“Why?” He whined. “Can’t we at least make out until he gets here?”

He was insatiable and it was driving her wild.

“No.” She stood her ground though, watching as he moved to plop down on the couch with a huff.

She really wanted to move, to go sit next to him and hold his hand.

She wanted to ask him what exactly about today had driven him so far over the edge.

But she refrained.

She couldn’t get that attached, not yet, not ever actually.

She was willing to have a little fun with him, to hopefully loosen up some and come out of her shell.

But she couldn’t, no, she wouldn’t, get attached to him emotionally.

Not now.

Not ever.


	6. Surprise

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Surprise: Robbie isn't dead.

“Sooo… who’s the girl?” Ethan snapped his head from the morning paper as he heard Robbie’s voice bellowing down the hallway.

He was hoping to get another hour or so of peace before the man rose from the ashes and joined the land of the living.

“What girl?” He really didn’t want to have this conversation right now, but, alas, it seemed as though he was going to.

“The girl that you snuck over here the other night.” He watched as his brother poured himself a cup of coffee before turning to give him an exasperated look. “And then snuck out of here the next morning.”

“There was no girl.” He was normally pretty good at lying to the man, hopefully this time it worked.

“You’re such a liar bro.” But his brother was trained to notice these things, so maybe he wasn’t going to get away with this one. “I saw her fucking bra on the stairs man.”

Dammit.

Guess they should be a little more careful next time.

“She’s just a girl Robbie.” Or rather, she was a woman.

A very, very sexy woman.

A woman who was slowly driving him insane.

“Are you dating?” Did he really need to go there?

“No.” At least, they weren’t yet anyway.

They had made plans to go out two nights ago.

But then a building collapsed downtown and they had both stuck around to help.

Hazard of the job he supposed.

“So you’re just sleeping with her?” His brother smirked at him from over his coffee mug and Ethan rolled his eyes before returning to the paper. “Is she hot?”

“I’m not talking about this with you.” There were many things he would talk to the kid about, but his sex life was not one of them.

“Oh come on man.” He sounded like a child when he whined like that.

“No.” Sometimes Ethan still thought his brother was a child though. “I should get ready for work.”

Robbie let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair and stared him down.

“You don’t have to be there for another two hours.” He really couldn’t get much past him could he. “Besides, you have to drop me off at therapy today.”

He was glad he had said something because Ethan had almost forgotten.

“Right.” He set the paper down and gave his brother his full attention.

If the kid wanted it, he was going to get it.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” But apparently Robbie just wanted him to talk about himself.

“How are you feeling?” Normally it was the other way around and his brother was asking that question.

It was funny how tragedy made the tables turn sometimes.

“Like I just spent six months in a mental hospital.” Robbie rolled his eyes as he spoke and Ethan sighed. “Oh wait… I did.”

“Robbie…” They had talked about this, quite a few times actually. “You agreed to do this remember? You agreed to get help.”

“I know.” He didn’t want to make him feel bad, but he had to want to help himself too.

Ethan couldn’t do this alone.

“Are you okay with going alone today?” Not that he had a choice. “I’m sure I could figure something out if you wanted some company.”

Leanne would understand if he said it was a family emergency.

Campbell on the other hand… not so much.

“No I’m good.” Robbie took a few more sips of his coffee before pushing away from the table. “I don’t need my big brother to escort me to therapy.”

That was totally not what Ethan meant.

“I didn’t mean it like that Robbie…” He just wanted to support his brother, it’s what he was there for. “I just know this is your first time going out since you’ve been home…”

“It’s just to the hospital man, I think I can handle it.” Honestly, he was glad that it was just to the hospital and that was it.

As good as his brother was doing, leaving the house was a big step for him at this point.

“Okay.” But he knew better than to push. “Well, I’ll only be a few blocks away if you need me.”

Robbie shrugged before heading back down the hall with a huff.

Ethan guessed that baby steps was the best way to handle this.

—

He had dropped Robbie off at the address listed on his outpatient paperwork and waited.

He didn’t know what exactly he was waiting for though, because Robbie had barely said two words to him since that morning at the table.

In fact, he had sulked out to the car like a toddler who was told he had to go to school on his birthday.

But he wanted to make sure that he was there in case Robbie got the urge to bolt.

Something he had tried many times when he had been in the hospital, and in rehab, and honestly, in any place that didn’t suit his fancy since as early as Ethan could remember.

When the younger man didn’t come barreling through the door after a few minutes Ethan let out a sigh and drove away.

He parked his Jeep in the parking garage and sat there staring at the windshield.

He really should just go inside and get his shift started, but he couldn’t make himself exit the vehicle.

The past year had been hell on him and finally having his brother home was causing it all to catch up to him.

He really should have taken his COs advice to take some time off.

But then he wouldn’t have found himself here, at Angels, and he wouldn’t have met Leanne.

And that would have been a damn shame.

——————————————————————————

Leanne could tell that something was up with Ethan the second he exited the elevator and made his way toward the locker room.

She could see it in his face, in the way his shoulders slumped forward as he all but dragged his feet down the hall.

She wasn’t sure if it was her place to step in and make sure he was okay, but she couldn’t help herself.

So she made her way into the small room and stopped just inside the door, eyeing him softly as he removed his t-shirt and shoved it into his locker.

“Like what you see?” He was a goddamn magician.

“You already know I do.” She really, really liked what she saw actually.

And she had been missing it the past few days.

Not that she would ever tell him that.

“What’s up?” He smirked at her as he turned around, pulling his scrub top on slowly.

“Just checking to make sure you’re okay.” She swallowed as she tried to avert her eyes from his chest, but it was very, very hard. “You looked a little… lost when you came in.”

He nodded his head with a chuckle before turning back toward his locker and grabbing his tennis shoes.

She watched as he sat down on the bench and slipped them on, tying them slowly as he spoke.

“You have any siblings?” Well that was a loaded question out of nowhere.

“A sister.” Not that they were close. “Why?”

“You close?” She shook her head as he lifted his gaze toward her, his hands falling to his lap as he dropped his feet to the ground.

“Not really. She’s my half sister actually. We’re ten years apart.” Or something like that. “She lives back East.”

“Must be nice.” She wondered what he meant by that.

Was he having trouble with a sibling?

Was something going on?

“Sibling drama?” Not that it was any of her business, but she could tell by the softness in his eyes that he was hurting from something.

“My brother Robbie, he uh…” He swallowed as he ran a hand through his hair and Leanne moved to sit beside him. “He tried to commit suicide a year ago.”

“Oh my God, Ethan…” She didn’t really know what to say but she reached out and squeezed his hand in hers tightly. “I’m… I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay.” He squeezed her hand back before nodding his head. “He’s okay, sort of. I mean… he spent some time in the hospital, then he did six months in a mental hospital.”

That sounded like the least amount of fun ever.

“Is he…? How is he now?” She desperately wanted things to be okay because she couldn’t imagine what Ethan was going through.

“Yeah. He’s fine.” He looked up and locked eyes with her, smiling softly. “He was supposed to do rehab, but he wasn’t doing well there so they agreed to let him do outpatient treatments here in LA.”

“Well that’s good.” At least, that sounded better than being locked up somewhere without any family around. “Right?”

“It’s better…” She sensed a giant ‘but’ coming. “But I’m his only family. Our dad… he’s back east, re-married, doesn’t care too much for Robbie’s ‘shenanigans’, as he calls him.”

“Almost committing suicide is hardly a shenanigan.” Ethan’s dad sounded like a jerk.

“Yeah, well, try telling Martin Willis that.” He sighed again before moving to stand up, slamming his locker door shut before leaning against it. “Anyway, he’s living with me and I’m okay with that, but…”

“You don’t know how to help him?” She guessed that was the issue, because frankly, she wouldn’t know what to do either.

“I feel like I failed him the first time.” He closed his eyes and she moved to stand in front of him, cupping his face between her palms. “I don’t wanna let him down again.”

“You, Ethan Willis, could never let anyone down.” She had known this man less than a week and yet here she was making these kinds of declarations.

She was downright insane.

“Easy for you to say.” He gave her a soft smirk as he reached out and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “You’ve only known me a week, not exactly enough time for me to let you down yet.”

“That’s plenty of time.” That sounded so wrong and she sighed despite the chuckle that he let out.

“I should get to work.” He leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to her lips before ducking out of her arms. “Don’t need my boss coming after me for being late, again.”

“Your boss sounds like a hard ass.” She watched as he winked at her before leaving the small room.

She was so not handling this like she thought she would.


	7. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan has a secret.

Ethan wasn’t gonna lie and say that the past week had been easy, because it had been anything but.

Everything with his brother was just becoming a lot and while he knew that he needed to help him, he was getting a little stressed out at his drama.

He knew that when he agreed to let his brother move in with him that it would be a big step.

Robbie was vulnerable right now and needed extra care.

But Ethan was beginning to wonder if his support was the right thing for the kid.

“You’ve gotta get your ass out of bed Robbie.” He groaned as he flung the curtains open in the guest bedroom. “It’s already 11:00am.”

“Go away Ethan.” His brother didn’t seem to like the sound of that though and he huffed as he stopped beside bed. “Don’t you have a shift?”

“Yes, and that’s why I’m here to wake you up before I go.” Robbie simply rolled over and pulled the pillow over his head.

But Ethan wasn’t having any of his childish behavior and instead he grabbed the pillow and tossed it onto the chair by the window.

“Get up.” He hated how much he sounded like his father when those words left his mouth and Robbie must have heard it too because he rolled over and glared at him. “Please.”

“I’m tired.” Of that Ethan was certain.

“Well, maybe try not staying up so late tonight.” He watched as the younger man crawled out of the bed and grabbed a pair of boxers from his dresser. “Perhaps going to bed before the sun rises will help…”

He watched as Robbie flipped him the bird, and then he was disappearing into the hall bathroom and shutting the door.

“Or you can ignore me and continue to feel like crap…” He sighed as he wiped his hand over his face, freezing in place when his phone started ringing.

If it was someone from the hospital reminding him that he was due there in less than thirty minutes he was going to scream.

But the name that flashed across the screen caused his heart to sink a little.

Jamie.

Not exactly the person he wanted to talk to right now.

“I’m late for work so this had better be good.” He’d be lucky if he made it there on time now.

The construction they were doing in the next neighborhood over had made him late every day this week.

Not that it helped that he already lived almost twenty minutes outside the city.

“I need you to pick up Harry.” He sighed as he closed his eyes.

Of course she did.

“Why?” He couldn’t imagine what her reasoning could possibly be.

It was a Wednesday at 11:15am, shouldn’t the kid be in school?

“The school called and said he has a fever and he has to go home.” Leave it to his kid to have impeccable timing. “Please Ethan. I can’t get away. I have a home visit to do in fifteen minutes and it’s important.”

“Okay. I’ll get him.” It’s not that he didn’t want to spend time with the kid, hell, it was half the reason he had agreed to the post in LA in the first place. “Do I bring him here or what?”

But he hadn’t brought him home to his place, not yet.

Instead they had stuck to Jamie’s house or the park, sometimes going out for dinner or a movie, or a game of mini golf.

But Ethan’s house was still a disaster area.

Not to mention his brother was still a disaster in himself.

“No, no just take him to the house.” She sounded panicked and he felt bad, she hated surprises. “The nanny will be there around 1:30 but she has a class until then. I just need you to keep him until then.”

“Will do.” She mumbled out a ‘thank you’ before ending the call and Ethan sighed.

Guess he was going to have to come up with an excuse for this one.

—

When he had finally arrived at Angels at a little after 2:00pm mass chaos was already in full swing and he sighed.

Guess he picked a bad day to be late.

“You’re late.” Leanne hissed from behind him as he stopped by the nurse’s station to check a chart.

“Sorry. Family emergency.” He watched as she nodded her head before leaning against the counter and giving him a soft look.

“Is everything okay?” He supposed her concern was warranted, but it was random.

They hadn’t exactly talked since the other day when he told her about Robbie.

Not for any particular reason other than he just hadn’t had time.

“Yeah.” He heard Jesse calling out for them and he turned in the direction of the ambulance bay. “We should go.”

She nodded her head once more before following after him, her eyes widening at the sudden influx of ambulances heading into the small space.

————————————————

The afternoon had been crazy, which had turned into wild, which had turned into insane.

And by the time Leanne had gotten a chance to breathe she wasn’t even sure which was up and which way was down.

“But he’s okay right?” She heard Colonel Willis’ voice before she saw him and she paused at the end of the hallway, not wanting to intrude. “What about the fever? Does he still have a fever?”

She waited for him to keep talking but instead he just let out a deep sigh and then there was silence.

“Well, if the fever doesn’t go down bring him to Angels.” She heard his feet scoffing against the floor and she held her breath.

The last thing she wanted was for him to catch her eaves dropping.

But she was suddenly very intrigued about this mysterious man.

“Yes Jamie I’m sure.” He sighed again and she wondered if she should go to him. “I’ll be here until tomorrow sometime, probably longer, bring him in if the fever doesn’t go down.”

And then he was muttering something to himself and she bit her lip.

Who in the world could he possibly be talking to?

“Leanne!” But then Jesse was calling for her and she felt her heart stop.

Surely he had just given away.

Ethan came into her line of sight a second later and she watched as he said ‘goodbye’ and hung up the phone.

They stood there staring at each other for a good thirty seconds before Jesse called for her again.

She let out a sigh as she turned on her heel and headed in his direction.

Whatever he wanted, it had better be good.

—

And then she saw Ethan harping on Charlotte and she knew she had to intervene.

Whatever was going on in his personal life, he couldn’t bring it here.

“Dr. Willis, is there a problem?” Clearly something was going on with their patient and she had to get to the bottom of it.

“I’m handling it.” Someone was crabby and she sighed.

This was going to be harder than she expected.

She listened as the two of them went toe to toe for a few minutes before she dismissed the resident and moved to stand in front of the man who was slowly driving her insane.

“Let me tell you something about that girl.” She didn’t care what Ethan was feeling right now, but she wasn’t going to allow him to take anything out on someone who was just doing their job. “She finished top of her class. Her film career didn’t do that for her. She did. She has a brilliant brain. She has a big heart.”

“Maybe I’m just used to military protocol.” So that’s what this was about, protocol.

Well protocol was often damned in this hospital and if he hadn’t figured that out by now he was in trouble.

“She’s not in the military. She’s a first-year resident.” And she definitely wasn’t someone that Ethan should be harping on quite as much. “Which means she’s not ready for the consequences of a mistake like that.”

“None of us are.” And then he was turning around and leaving her standing there alone and she sighed.

This man was more complex than she had originally suspected.

And while it was scary, it was more intriguing than she had ever expected.

————————————————————

Ethan wasn’t here to babysit.

He wasn’t here to hold the resident’s hands and walk them through every patient.

No, rather, he was here to do his job and take care of his patients and make sure that no one died on his watch.

And yet, here he was, having to watch Charlotte’s every move to ensure that she didn’t do anything stupid.

Again.

“Dr. Willis, there’s a woman in bed three asking for you.” He watched as Eloise handed him the chart and often him a smiled. “Said it was important.”

He didn’t miss Leanne’s raised eyebrow from across the desk and he sighed.

This couldn’t be good.

But he grabbed the chart anyway and headed toward the bed in question.

The curtain was drawn but he knew the second he got close enough to smell the familiar perfume who it was.

“I take it the fever didn’t go down.” He watched as Jamie stepped back from the bed, revealing a sleepy looking Harrison, his bangs matted to his forehead as he smiled at him softly.

“Hi daddy.” The whispered greeting made Ethan smile and he pulled the curtain around him to give them some privacy.

But he didn’t miss Leanne standing just outside the space, an eyebrow raised at the scene before her.

He shook his head in an attempt to say ‘not now, later’ and then turned back around to take care of his new patient.

—

It hadn’t taken much, a quick look in the boy’s ears had told him all he needed to know.

An ear infection.

Again.

This made the third one this year.

So he had written him a prescription for some ear drops and some antibiotics and he sent them on their way.

Ethan had let out a sigh as he had hugged the boy goodbye and promised to stop by tomorrow after his shift ended.

And then he had returned to his patient.

Attempting, yet again, to convince Holden that doing the surgery was going to save his life, no matter what he thought.

It hadn’t been easy, but it had worked, and the next thing he knew he was wheeling the kid to surgery.

And after arguing with Campbell in the hallway over Charlotte’s actions he had needed a break.

He snuck out the back door and into the alley, his head falling against the brick wall behind him as he sighed.

Coming to Los Angeles had been a lot harder than he expected.

“I hope you’re not out here to hide.” The sound of Leanne’s voice caused him to chuckle.

Of course she would figure out how to find him.

She must have had some sort of magical power.

“Just needed some air.” He said softly as he watched her move from her spot on the other side of the alley and toward him. “Today’s been… a lot.”

She nodded her head as she stopped before him, her arms crossing her chest as she stared him down.

“Is your son okay?” He sighed at her question.

This was not how he had wanted this to go.

Normally he kept Harrison to himself, kept him locked away in a bubble that no one knew about but him and his brother and the boy’s mom.

He didn’t tell his co-workers about him.

He didn’t tell his Army buddies or even his COs.

And he certainly didn’t mention him to his girlfriends.

Not that Leanne was his girlfriend.

“He’s fine. Ear infection.” He guessed maybe it was better not to lie to her about the boy though.

It was a lot harder to hide him when he was within city limits.

“Ah.” She simply nodded her head with the muttering of that simple word and he sighed again.

“Sorry I didn’t say anything about him…” He didn’t know why he was apologizing, it’s like they were anything serious.

“It’s okay.” She didn’t look okay though.

But he couldn’t quite peg what that emotion was on her face.

It wasn’t anger.

Sadness maybe?

Confusion definitely.

“I don’t normally introduce him to the women in my life.” Although, he supposed, he wasn’t exactly introducing them was he? “Or talk about him really, not unless I’m serious with someone.”

“Have you ever been serious enough with someone to mention him before?” Well that was a loaded question, one he most certainly didn’t expect from her.

“Once.” And only the once. “He was still really little though. And I was stationed in North Carolina at the time. He and his mom were in Florida.”

She nodded her head as she chewed on her bottom lip.

He could practically see the wheels in her head turning.

“We were never married, Jamie and I.” Not that this was any of her business. “We were in love, but, it just didn’t work. Deployment, grad school, it was too much. She moved here to be closer to her parents and sister while I was in Afghanistan and they stayed.”

Leanne didn’t respond and he sighed as he leaned his head back against the wall.

“This is the first time in his almost five years of life that I’ve actually lived in the same state as him.” It was hard, being gone all the time, watching his son grow up through pictures and weekly FaceTime calls.

But it was the life he had chosen long before there were two lines on that pregnancy test Jamie took in a supermarket bathroom.

They had made it work and up until two months ago, they hadn’t known any different.

But now he was here, in the same place that they were, and he was doing his best to make it work.

“He lives with her full time. We don’t really have an agreement or anything, she just lets me see him when I can.” Again, he didn’t know why he was spilling his life secrets to this woman. “I’ve been trying to fix up the house so he can have a room of his own, but, it’s been a process, especially with Robbie…”

He had been trying, hard.

He hoped that Harrison and his mother saw that.

“I know it’s a lot and I’m sorry to just kinda dump this all on you at once…” He ran a hand through his hair and she just nodded her head before reaching for the door handle beside him.

And then she was disappearing inside and he was left all alone, once again.

—

It didn’t help that he had had to work beside her the rest of the night and into the morning.

It didn’t help that he was swooping in and trying to help her save the day.

And when she told him that she had been there for longer a shift or two, he knew something was up.

She had to be dead on her feet.

No wonder she couldn’t stand to talk to him about Harry earlier.

But she had done her job regardless, just like he guessed she always did.

————————————————————

Leanne hadn’t wanted to hear Ethan’s excuses.

She knew he had to have them.

There was no other reason for him to not tell her about his son.

But then it hit her.

He owed her nothing.

They weren’t together.

They weren’t even dating.

So all in all, he didn’t have to tell her anything.

And yet, it hurt in all the wrong ways.

She had settled down to do paperwork instead of leaving for the night, her mind still unable to take in everything she had learned that day.

But not fifteen minutes after starting on her patient files she heard his voice.

His soft and sexy and sleepy voice.

The voice that was going to drive her insane.

“Even in a war zone, we slept.” Oh please, he was one to talk.

She chuckled as she held her hands up in defense.

It’s not like she could help it.

There was work to be done.

“Good night Dr. Willis.” And didn’t he have a son to be going home to anyway?

“Is Charlotte gonna make it?” Keeping it professional, very smooth.

“I don’t know.” But two could play at this game.

“You gonna let Campbell dump her?” She would never do that.

“I didn’t say that.” She may have known Will Campbell for a while now, but that didn’t stop her from getting pleasure out of pissing him off every now and then. “You asked if she was gonna make it.”

He nodded his head with a sigh as he watched her move around her desk.

He was watching her every move and it both intrigued her and annoyed her at the same time.

“How many cadets drop out of Navy SEAL training?” It wasn’t a statistic she expected him to know, but she was losing the ability to focus with him just standing there staring at her like that.

“Seven out of ten.” He spat the answer back at her with no hesitation and she was shocked.

Handsome and smart.

She was doomed.

“It’s the way it should be.” She didn’t know why she started packing up her stuff, it’s not like she was planning to leave anytime soon. “The stakes are too high for it to be any different.”

And the same was true here.

Only the tough survived.

She had done it, even through the darkest hours of her life.

She had to believe that Charlotte could do it too.

“You’re the one who said she had what it took to get here.” He didn’t need to go and get all snippy on her.

“She does.” She nodded her head as she stared him down. “Now we have to see if she has what it takes to stay.”

He took a sip of his coffee but his eyes never left hers.

“What about you?” The question left her mouth before she knew what she was asking and she mentally kicked herself.

“What about me?” Clearly he was intrigued by the question at hand though.

She chuckled as he smirked at her.

Damn he was good.

“Why are you here?” She figured she knew part of the reason, his son was here, his brother was here, but how long did that give her with him?

“I owe the army two years.” Well that was a little longer than she expected. “They’ve decided to park me here until my tour’s over.”

So it wasn’t just a personal choice to come to LA then.

“Why?” She had to know more but she didn’t know why.

“Long story.” She was the queen of long stories.

“I’m not giving up on Charlotte.” He started walking away from her and she guessed that she had maybe struck a nerve.

“Good.” That hadn’t been her intention though and now she felt kind of bad.

He had been open with her earlier, clearly there were some things he still needed to talk about though.

“Nighty night.” He had whispered as he walked away with a chuckle.

“Nighty night.” She shook her head as she finished packing her bag, a small smile coming across her features when she noticed him lingering just outside the door.

Wasn’t he supposed to be going home?

Why was he waiting for her?

“I thought you were leaving Dr. Willis.” She called after him as she closed her bag and pulled it over her shoulder, making her way toward the door as she watched him turn around and beam back at her.

“Figured I could walk you out…” He gestured toward the door with his coffee cup and she nodded her head.

It was the least he could do.

—

But the walking her to her car had led to them making out in the parking deck like their lives depended on.

And when she finally felt the need for oxygen she had pushed him back slowly, her eyes locking with his as she took a breath.

“We shouldn’t do this.” For what reason, she really didn’t know.

“Why not?” He seemed to agree that her question was unwarranted though and the next thing she knew his lips were pressing against her neck as one hand made it’s way under her tank top, skimming over her stomach slowly. “We’re pretty good at it.”

“I never said we weren’t.” Hell, if there was one thing they were good at, it was this. “But here? Now? Not the best time or place.”

He pulled back with a huff and then realization hit him.

“Oops.” Yeah, oops.

They had just been making out like a bunch of teenagers in a location where they could easily be spotted by anyone that they worked with.

This was a dangerous place to be right now.

“I’m gonna go home now Ethan.” She watched as he stepped back and allowed her to open the door, tossing her bag into the passenger seat.

“Want some company?” He sounded very desperate and she sighed.

“What about your son?” It stung in so many ways to say that out loud.

“He’s already asleep. I’ll see him tomorrow.” She guessed maybe that was a good thing.

She waited for a minute, her brain trying to come up with any reason why he shouldn’t come over, but she couldn’t come up with one.

“Okay.” He smiled at her and she felt her heart swell.

That smile was gonna get her in so much trouble.

But she was starting to think that maybe it was worth it.


	8. So What Now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Jesse and Robbie are desperate to play matchmaker.  
> **Also, Harrison.

It had all been worth it, until Leanne felt herself getting attached.

It had only been two months.

But they had been a great two months.

And she felt herself falling for Ethan in ways she never expected.

“Earth to Leanne…” It didn’t help that Jesse was constantly on her case about their relationship too.

“Sorry Jesse.” She needed to stop letting her mind wander when he was around.

It always ended in a barrage of questions.

“What’s on your mind daddy?” And there they were.

“Nothing.” It wasn’t nothing, in fact, it was definitely something, but she couldn’t tell him that. “Just tired is all.”

“Not sleep last night?” Oh no, she had slept, quite well actually.

Ethan had a way about him that did well with tiring her out.

And then he’d tuck her against him and she’d sleep like a rock.

He was a human heated blanket and she couldn’t get enough of him.

“No, I slept fine.” The last thing she needed was Jesse finding out that she was sleeping so well because of the man. “Just, needed more sleep I guess.”

“Uh huh.” She knew she wasn’t fooling the man though, he wasn’t stupid. “You spend the night with Colonel Willis again?”

Shit.

“Ethan.” He hated being called Colonel and she didn’t know why she felt the need to correct Jesse, but she did. “And yes actually, I did.”

Lying to her best-friend wasn’t going to get her anywhere so she figured she might as well just come clean.

“That’s what I thought.” She didn’t know what the big deal was though, she was being safe and wasn’t doing anything crazy. “You two have been getting awfully cozy lately.”

“Yeah, and?” She was having fun.

They were having fun.

Wasn’t that what mattered?

Wasn’t that what Jesse had been trying to get her to do since her accident?

“Just making sure you’re happy.” Of course he was, he always was. “He seems like a decent guy.”

“He is.” At least from what she could tell he was.

And the way he treated her, well, that was definitely something she could get used too.

“How long does he plan on staying?” The question made her exhale.

She wasn’t sure about the answer to that.

Especially since he had brought up Harrison.

“Don’t know.” He had mentioned that he was here for work but that he was trying to make things right so that he could get his son more.

That had to mean that he was trying to stick around long term.

“He hasn’t mentioned anything to you about it?” He had, sort of, but she didn’t really remember much of the conversation.

“He said he owes the Army two years.” That part wasn’t a lie. “That’s all I got out of him.”

“So they just dumped him here because…?” She really didn’t think she should be telling Jesse any of this.

“His brother is here.” She guessed that maybe that had something to do with him wanting to be stationed here. “So is his son.”

The look of shock on Jesse’s face made her realize what she had just said and she sighed.

She didn’t know if Ethan wanted the others to know about his son.

But it was too late now.

“He has a son?” Jesse didn’t seem as outwardly expressive about this fact as he normally was about things.

“Yes.” And that was all she was going to give him. “And I’m done talking about this Jesse, really. It’s not my place.”

“Interesting…” She wasn’t sure how, but she would go with it.

“Yeah.” She nodded her head as she took a sip from her long forgotten coffee. “I should get back to work.”

The liquid was cold and she made a face before standing, tossing the cup into the trash can and heading out the break room door before Jesse could say anything else.

—

A few hours later she had been on coffee number four when Ethan stopped beside her at the nurse’s station and offered her a smile.

“You okay?” She didn’t know why he was asking, she was just fine.

“Yeah. Why?” Not that she didn’t appreciate the concern.

It was just, unwarranted.

“You haven’t answered my last three texts.” He was being quiet enough that no one else was drawn to their conversation and she was appreciative.

The last thing she needed was a gaggle of nosy nurses finding out she was seeing Colonel Handsome, as they had dubbed him.

“Sorry.” She didn’t even know where her phone was if she was being honest. “I’ve been busy. I think my phone’s still on my desk. I haven’t had time to check it.”

She hadn’t been that busy, but what Ethan didn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him.

“Gotcha.” He didn’t seem the least bit phased though and he just nodded his head with a smile. “I was gonna see if you wanted to grab dinner.”

“I can’t.” She didn’t know why she couldn’t, but something inside made her answer with that before she knew what was happening.

“Oh. Okay.” He seemed disappointed but when she chanced a look at him he was still staring at the file in front of him with a soft smile. “Another night then?”

She nodded her head before stepping back and turning toward the hallway.

She didn’t know why she felt the need to run away right then and there, but she needed to be anywhere but with him.

Ethan had been disappointed when Leanne had turned down his invitation to dinner.

In fact, he had been pretty upset about it.

But he wasn’t mad at her and he couldn’t help but think that maybe she thought he was.

He had shot her an apologetic text as he left Angels that night, stopping to grab take out on his way home instead.

She didn’t reply back but he knew better than to expect a response right away.

So he had gone home and collapsed on the couch with his food, the sounds of a Dodgers game drowning out the thoughts in his head.

That was until he was woken up at a quarter to mid night by Robbie stumbling through the front door.

“Jesus Christ Robbie, could you make any more noise?” He hadn’t even noticed that the other man’s car wasn’t in the driveway when he got home.

He was starting to lose his touch and it showed.

“Sorry bro.” He glanced up at the man as he stopped in the doorway to the living room.

“Where were you anyway?” Not that he had known that he was gone, but Robbie didn’t need to know that.

“I was… out.” That sounded awfully suspicious.

“Out?” He knew better than to trust his brother.

If he didn’t give full details off the bat, he was probably up to something.

“Yeah uh…” Robbie scratched at the back of his neck, a tell tale sign that he was nervous. “I met a girl…”

“Oh for Christ’s sake.” A girl was the last thing Robbie needed.

Ethan was still recovering from his last break up with a girl.

And it hadn’t even been his relationship.

“Yeah… we uh…” He was nervous and Ethan sighed.

He hated that his brother felt that way when talking to him.

He had always tried to keep an open line of communication between them.

He guessed that maybe the past few years he had allowed that line to get a little tangled.

“Why don’t you tell me about her in the morning?” He hoped that Robbie understood what he was trying to say.

He wanted to know more, but now was not the time.

They both clearly needed some sleep.

“Sounds good bro.” He could see his brother’s smile though and he nodded his head. “Night E.”

“Night Robbie.” He sank back down onto the couch and closed his eyes, his body relaxing against the cushions as he fell back to sleep.

—

The next morning Ethan got up and showered and felt slightly more human than he had the night before.

His ego was still hurt that Leanne had shut him down last night and having fallen asleep on the couch like some kind of college kid hadn’t helped his pride any either.

Nor had Robbie coming home after being out with a girl.

That had kind of stung.

“Morning bro.” The sound of his brother’s voice broke him from his thoughts and he smiled over the rim of his coffee mug as the other man poured himself a cup.

“Morning.” He was glad to see him up and out of the bed before noon today. “Sleep alright last night?”

“Slept great.” There was a twinkle in his eye that told Ethan he slept well for other reasons than just being tired. “I was a little, worn out last night, if you know what I mean.”

He winked and Ethan couldn’t help but shake his head.

He really didn’t need to know about his brother’s sexcapades.

“So this girl…” He would play along with Robbie, for now. “Where’d you meet?”

“Rehab.” Oh goody.

“Rehab?” That didn’t exactly sound like the best place to meet a girl. “That doesn’t sound… Robbie that’s…”

“It’s all cool man.” Robbie didn’t seem the least bit phased and Ethan wasn’t shocked. “She’s cool I mean. She’s not crazy. She’s just been through some shit. A friend of hers from work suggested therapy and we happen to be in the same group for some stuff… it’s not what you think.”

“If you say so.” Ethan took another sip of his coffee and he suddenly wished it was a beer instead, he was going to need it to make it through this conversation.

“We’ve talked some there, ya know, flirted and stuff.” Oh he was sure Robbie did more than just flirt. “She happens to be a frequent visitor at my favorite Korean food truck too. We ran into each other there yesterday and decided to spend the afternoon together.”

“Which turned into spending the night together?” His brother always did go from zero to sixty with woman.

“Aw relax E, we didn’t do anything.” He didn’t believe that. “I mean, we made out a little. She’s a great kisser…”

“I don’t wanna know Robbie.” He didn’t share details of his relationships with the kid, maybe he could return the favor.

“You should meet her man. She’s feisty. Got a kick-ass sense of humor.” He was sure that Robbie’s girl was someone he needed to meet, but he’d humor him, for now.

“Well you should invite her over sometime…” Robbie smiled at him as he dropped to sit at the table across from him.

“Maybe we can double date!” Double date? What were they, twelve.

“I don’t double date.” He also didn’t know who he would be double dating with. “And I don’t have a date.”

“Leanne!” Yeah, that was never going to happen.

“Leanne and I aren’t dating.” He set his coffee cup down as he let out a sigh. “I thought it was going somewhere, but…”

“But what? What happened?” Robbie seemed genuinely concerned and it was a reaction he wasn’t expecting. 

“I don’t know man.” He also didn’t know how to explain to Robbie what had gone down.

Not that he knew himself.

“Well I mean, things seemed to be going so well…” Yeah, well.

“I don’t know,” But he did have an idea, “I mentioned Harry the other day…”

“Aw dude.” Yeah, it was stupid, but hindsight was 20/20 right? “She doesn’t like kids?”

“I don’t know. She’s never given me that impression.” He honestly didn’t know how she felt about kids, but she was always really gentle with them whenever they came into Angels.

“You need to talk to her man.” Robbie shouldn’t be giving him any advice as far as he was concerned. “Communication is the key to establishing healthy relationships.”

“Did your therapist tell you that?” He was glad that his brother was getting help, but did he really need to use it to get into his head?

“No, my girl did.” Well there was that.

“Well, tell your ‘girl’, thanks for the advice,” He downed the last of his coffee before standing, moving toward the sink to set his cup down, “but I’m good.”

And then he made his way toward the stairs, deciding that he would go out for a ride on his bike to clear his head.

—

His bike ride had somehow lead him to Jamie’s house, despite not calling first like he was supposed too.

He spotted Harrison on the front porch, a soccer ball in his hands, a giant smile on his face when he recognized him.

“Daddy!” He parked the bike on the street and dropped his helmet onto the seat, smiling as he waved back at the boy.

“Hi buddy!” He saw Jamie appear in the window and she simply offered him a wave as she nodded her head.

He was thankful that she was okay with him just dropping by like this.

He was still working out the kinks in this whole co-parenting thing.

“What are you doing here?” Harrison dropped the ball as he bounded down the steps and ran into Ethan’s open arms.

“I just thought I’d swing by and say ‘hello’.” The boy tightened his arms around his neck and he smiled.

“Well ‘hello’ daddy.” He whispered against his shoulder before pulling back. “I’m glad you’re here.”

“Me too pal.” There was something about being with the kid that always made his heart a lot happier. “What are you up to today?”

“I’m getting ready for soccer practice!” That was when Ethan noticed the cleats on his son’s little feet and the little soccer shorts and t-shirt he was wearing.

“That sounds fun.” He guessed that maybe stopping by right now wasn’t a good idea.

“Mama!” Harrison turned toward the house and took off up the stairs as he called for the woman. “Mama, can daddy come to soccer practice?”

He waited with bated breath for Jamie to say ‘no’ but she chuckled softly before nodding her head from the other side of the door.

“Yes buddy, if daddy wants to come, he can come.” The boy turned toward him with the biggest puppy dog eyes he had ever seen and he smiled as he nodded his head.

“I’ll follow you and your mama there.” Harrison jumped up with excitement before bolting back into his arms, hugging him tightly.

Stopping by Jamie’s may have been a random decision, but it was one of his best.


	9. The New Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ethan and Leanne find out they have more in common than they thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Obviously not canon.

Two days later Ethan had had the day from hell and he didn’t care who knew it.

“What’s wrong with you bro?” But he really wasn’t in the mood to deal with Robbie right now regardless. “Someone piss in your cheerios this morning?”

“Fuck off Robbie.” He wasn’t one to throw around cuss words, but today was the kind of day that called for it.

“Well jeez, bro, I didn’t do anything.” He was right, he hadn’t done anything, but right now, everyone was the enemy. “What happened? Is it work?”

“It’s this new hot head paramedic we’ve got hanging around.” She was going to be the death of him and he just knew it. “She’s just… ugh.”

Robbie chuckled and he shot him a look that he hoped told him to stop while he was ahead.

“Sounds like a pistol.” That was an understatement.

“She’s just. My god she’s obnoxious.” He really didn’t want to get into this, but he needed to get it off his chest. “She thinks that she can just walk into the ER and tell me what to do.”

“Well, I mean…” Again, he shot the kid another look and Robbie held his hands up in defense. “Does she do this to anyone else? Maybe she likes you.”

“She apparently knows everyone else.” He dropped down onto the couch and sighed. “I guess maybe she just likes picking on the new guy.”

“Ah…” He didn’t know what Robbie meant by that one little sound, but he didn’t like it.

“She’s a hot head. She’s gonna get her patients killed.” He had told Leanne the same thing and she had just chuckled. “God she’s infuriating.”

“She sounds like a doll.” Of course Robbie would like the sound of her.

“Shut up Robert.” The last thing he needed was his brother thinking this woman was anything but trouble.

“Alright, alright.” Robbie just shook his head as he dropped to the couch beside him. “You gonna tell her how you feel?”

“You mean am I gonna tell her that she’s an annoying pain in my ass?” He highly doubted that would go over well. “No.”

“Well, I mean, what could it hurt?” It could hurt a lot of things, especially given that everyone else seemed to get along with her just fine.

“It’s fine Robbie, I’m just gonna do my best to avoid her from now on.” He knew it would be hard, but he could try. “I’ll let Leanne deal with her.”

“Sounds like a plan.” Robbie was chuckling and Ethan didn’t know why.

He must be up to something.

“You stay out of this.” He pointed an accusing finger at him as he spoke.

“Yes sir.” He mocked saluted and Ethan groaned.

He really didn’t need to deal with two smartasses right now.

“Go away Robbie.” He huffed, closing his eyes as he leaned his head back against the couch cushions.

“Fine. I’m gonna go get ready for my date.” He didn’t understand how his brother seemed to be having more dates than him.

It wasn’t fair.

“Have fun.” He waved his brother off as the younger man headed down the hall and he sighed.

He really needed to get a life.

Leanne had been relishing in the silence of her office for the first time in over twelve hours when her office door flew open and in stormed a very angry looking Ethan Willis.

A sexy, riled up, Ethan Willis.

She wasn’t going to lie, perturbed was a good look for him.

“She’s infuriating!” Leanne raised an eyebrow from behind her glasses as she watched him start to pace back and forth in the small space. “I can’t work with her anymore.”

She wasn’t sure who had him so riled up, but she had a pretty good guess.

“Rox giving you a hard time?” Roxane Valenzuela was nothing if not… stubborn.

She could definitely push the best person to their limits.

Leanne had learned to dig her headstrong attitude years ago.

Ethan clearly didn’t feel the same way.

“She’s gotta go Leanne. I can’t do this.” Leanne let out a chuckle as he stopped his pacing and crossed his arms over his chest. “I know she’s new here…”

“Wait wait wait.” Leanne held up her hands and gave him a look that told him if he knew what was good for him he’d stop talking, now. “Rox is not new here Ethan, you are.”

“But…” The look of confusion on his face was enough to make her day.

“Rox has been dropping her patients off here for years.” Ethan let out a huff as he sank down into the chair across from her. 

“Then how come I’ve never seen her?” Well, it had only been three months, what exactly did he expect? “Or even heard of her? No one’s talked about her before.”

Leanne let out a sigh as she leaned back and eyed Ethan softly.

“Rox was dealing with some… personal issues…” And that was all she was going to say on the matter.

Rox wasn’t an open book, and she knew better than to spill her secrets to someone like Ethan.

“She’s impossible.” He looked so worked up and Leanne was digging it.

“Well, she’s a great paramedic.” One of the best Leanne had ever seen. “And she’s one of my closest friends, so you better play nice.”

Ethan scowled at her like an angry child before pushing himself to stand up, storming out of her office with a huff.

Leanne would definitely make sure to let Rox know just how under his skin she was getting.

—

Which is why when she bumped into Rox outside the hospital a few hours later she made sure to flag the younger woman down.

“Rox, wait up!” Rox slowed down and turned around, offering her a smile as she waited for her to catch up.

“Hey, I was wondering if I was gonna see you today.” Leanne had almost thought she’d never get out of there things had been so busy.

“Yeah it’s been a hell of a day.” She shoved her hands in her pockets and offered Rox a questioning look. “So… you’ve gotten Dr. Willis’ panties in quite the bunch here lately.”

Rox busted out laughing and Leanne couldn’t help but join her.

There were few people in the ER who weren’t used to Rox’s ways, but Ethan seemed to be the only one phased by her.

“He’s a big baby.” That he was, at least when it came to his pride.

“He’s very… proud.” Leanne couldn’t think of another word for it honestly.

“He’s a stubborn old ass is what he is.” Well, that too.

“Indeed.” But Leanne wouldn’t deny it, not between her and Rox anyway.

“Which reminds me, I have a question about the good old Colonel Willis.” Oh no, this couldn’t be good.

“What’s up?” If she was going to ask if Ethan was single Leanne might have to start something.

Ethan was hers.

And when she became so possessive about it she didn’t know.

“Does he have a brother by chance?” Well that was unexpected.

“Yeah he does.” At least Leanne vaguely remembered him mentioning something about a brother who was going through some stuff. “He lives with him I think.”

“Interesting…” Leanne didn’t know how, but she’d roll with it.

“Why, what’s up?” She couldn’t imagine what Rox was scheming up now.

“I met a guy is all. His last name is Willis.” Uh oh.

“Met him where Rox?” Leanne had a feeling she already knew the answer to that question and she held her breath as she waited for a response.

“Rehab, well, technically in therapy.” She shrugged like it was nothing and Leanne let out a sigh.

It definitely sounded like she had found herself seeing the younger Willis brother.

This couldn’t be good.

“Roxane…” She didn’t have to tell Rox what she already knew though.

Dating someone you met in group therapy never ended well.

“What? It’s innocent.” The look on the other woman’s face told her it was anything but innocent. “We’re having fun.”

Leanne knew exactly what ‘having fun’ looked like.

“Just, be careful.” She had seen Rox get hurt in her last relationship.

Hurt enough that it had landed her in rehab and therapy.

Hurt enough that it had caused her and her girls to move to Portland to live with family for a year.

Hurt enough that Leanne worried anytime she saw Rox look the least bit scared or upset.

Thankfully it was all over now and everyone was safe.

But she would be damned if she let either one of the Willis brothers hurt her.

“I am Leanne, don’t worry.” Rox smiled at her and she wanted so hard to believe her.

She just prayed that she was telling the truth.

—

Leanne spent the rest of the day wondering if she should tell Ethan that Rox was seeing his brother.

If maybe she should warn him, to warn Robbie, that Rox was fragile.

And not fragile in the sense that she might break.

But fragile in the sense that she might explode.

But she had made the decision not to get involved after watching Ethan and Rox argue over a patient, the fight resulting in Ethan storming away like a toddler.

Maybe letting Ethan suffer a little bit was worth it.

They hadn’t had much contact with the paramedic after that and when Leanne left work that night she was shocked to find Ethan still there.

“I thought you were heading home a while ago.” She watched as he turned to face her from his spot at the nurse’s station and he simply shrugged. “Everything okay?”

It wasn’t like him to just ignore her like that.

Normally she at least got some kind of reaction out of him.

“Just tired.” He closed the folder in front of him and sighed. “Didn’t really wanna go home and deal with Robbie either.”

She guessed that maybe Robbie and Rox were similar in how exhausting their recovery had been for the people around them.

“Wanna get a drink?” She watched as he closed his eyes for a second before nodding his head and turning toward her. “I’ll drive.”

He gave her a soft smile before setting the file down behind the counter and gesturing for her to lead the way.

—

The car ride to the bar was silent and when they pulled up outside Ethan had hopped out before she even had a chance to turn the engine off.

He waited for her beside the car, his hand falling to the small of her back as they made their way inside.

She felt every fiber of her being ignite at his touch.

It had been entirely too long since they had been that close.

“I’ll grab the drinks if you’ll get a seat.” She nodded her head at his suggestion and made her way to the back of the space, finding a booth that was relatively secluded and quiet, despite the bar being busy and loud.

When Ethan joined her a few minutes later he set a beer down in front of her, along with a bowl of pretzels.

“I took the liberty of ordering us some food too.” What a gentleman. “Just a few appetizers, but if you’re anything like me, you haven’t eaten since this morning.”

“I had a Cliff Bar thank you very much.” She couldn’t even remember when she had eaten that though, just that she had snuck it out of Jesse’s bag because she had been starving and couldn’t find anything but stale pizza in the break room.

“Yeah, when was that?” Ethan was on to her and she hated it.

“Who knows.” She took a swig of the beer, her eyes closing at the feeling of the liquid coating her throat.

She also couldn’t remember the last time she had had anything to drink.

Neither of these things were good for her health.

But what could she do, Center Stage had been a nightmare all day.

“So uh…” Ethan seemed nervous, something she had never witnessed before, and she raised an eyebrow at him as she waited for him to continue. 

But he didn’t.

Instead he shook his head before taking a sip of his beer.

And then he sank back against the seat and sighed.

“Something on your mind Ethan?” She could only imagine what it was given what he had going on in his personal life.

But she wanted to be a part of his personal life.

So finding out these things was important.

“Just thinking that I don’t really know much about you.” Well that was a loaded statement if there ever was one. “I mean… I know you’re a doctor, and that Jesse is your best friend. I know that you take your coffee black with one sugar because you’re crazy. You like Indian food and you hum a lot of ABBA songs under your breath when you think no one’s listening. But I don’t really… know you…”

“Well what do you want to know?” She couldn’t believe she was being so open with that question.

It certainly wasn’t in her nature.

Normally she was closed off and quiet and kept everything to herself.

Sure Jesse and Mike knew a lot.

And so did Ed.

And even Campbell to an extent.

But normally she didn’t tell people things about her life.

She preferred to remain a mystery.

“Where’d you grow up? Where’d you go to school? Did you always wanna be a doctor?” Okay, those were questions she could handle. “Have you ever been married? Got any secret kids you’re hiding from me? I mean, not that I was hiding Harrison…”

She felt her breath catch in her throat and she closed her eyes for a second as she tried to calm herself.

She couldn’t freak out here.

Not in the bar, not in a public space like this.

She knew that Ethan wasn’t trying to pry in a way that would make her uncomfortable, but damn did his questions hit her right where it hurt the most.

He must have guessed that he had gone too far because he let out a sigh and set his beer down.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gotten so personal…” He looked downright panicked and she looked up and offered him a smile.

“It’s okay Ethan.” She reached over and squeezed his hand and he nodded.

“You don’t have to answer any of that.” He looked, hurt, and it made Leanne hurt seeing him like that.

Here he was just trying to be friendly and she was freaking out.

She really needed to get over herself.

“It’s okay.” She squeezed his hand once more before taking a sip of her beer and sighing softly.

She could do this.

She could be brave and strong and everything she hadn’t been with a man since the accident three years ago.

Ethan wasn’t here to hurt her, that much she knew.

“I grew up in South Carolina.” There, that was easy.

But then again, that was easiest part.

“Really, where?” Oh no. “We lived in Columbia for most of my childhood, my dad was at Fort Jackson. We moved to Maryland when I was 14, mom was at Johns Hopkins and my dad got a post at Fort Meade to be closer to us.”

“Your mom was a doctor?” She had never heard him mention that before.

“Uh, no.” He scratched at the back of his neck nervously before letting out a sigh.

She must have touched a nerve.

One she certainly didn’t mean to.

“She was a patient.” Oh shit. “She had MS. She was managing okay for a while. Went downhill after my brother was born. Dad got her in to Johns Hopkins in hopes of things getting better.”

“They didn’t?” She wasn’t sure why she expected him to talk to her about this, it was clearly much more personal than they both had intended.

“Nah. She passed away not long after we got there.” That couldn’t have been an easy feet for someone like Ethan. “We moved to Raleigh after that. That’s where dad’s family was. I bolted when I was 17, joined the Army after bumming around New York for a bit with a buddy.”

“I’m sorry to hear that Ethan.” She felt herself squeezing his hand again and offering him a soft smile.

“It’s okay.” He nodded his head and smiled back. “So where in South Carolina are you from? If you tell me we have the same stomping grounds I’m gonna lose it.”

“I grew up in Eastover.” She watched as he chuckled and shook his head. “My dad was stationed at the Air Force base in Shaw. My mom’s parents were in Eastover so they settled there and my dad made the commute.”

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” He seemed so shocked and yet, so calm and cool and collected about it all. “I had friends in Eastover. Knew a bunch of guys at Shaw too.”

“What do you think the chances are that we knew each other?” Now she was intrigued.

“Did you know Ed Harbert growing up?” Wait, did she what? “He grew up in Shaw. His dad was at Jackson with mine for a bit. They moved a lot though. I just remember we used to get in all kinds of trouble back then.”

She had a sneaky feeling that Ed Harbert must have been the friend he bummed around New York with back in the day.

She remembered Ed mentioning it a time or two.

“I didn’t know him, no.” But now that he mentioned it… “Did Ed have a sister by chance?”

“Ha, Melissa, crazy girl.” So maybe she didn’t know Ed, but she sure as hell knew Melissa Harbert.

“She dated my best-friend’s brother.” She didn’t really remember much about her, but she remembered she was crazy and she was from Shaw and she had a little brother who was always tagging along with her. 

Ed was at least two years older than her, Melissa probably at least five, but she remembered her and Brandy thinking she was sweet for letting her brother tag along.

Especially when Michael was always telling them to get lost and never let them in on the fun.

“Mike something?” Oh shit, Ethan knew him.

If he knew him than he probably knew Brandy.

Which meant, he probably knew her.

“Cutler. Michael and Brandy Cutler.” She held her breath as she waited for him and to recognize the name. “They had a brother between them. He didn’t hang around us much though.”

“Good old Tyler Cutler.” So he knew Tyler as well.

“You knew Tyler?” He chuckled as he shook his head before taking a sip of a his beer.

“Tyler and Ed and I used to hang out.” She tried to rack her brain to see if she remembered ever seeing two other boys hanging around Tyler back in the day.

But all she could remember was that Tyler always seemed to be grounded for some reason or another.

She was starting to think that Ed Harbert and Ethan Willis might have been those reasons.

“What’s your maiden name?” What was her what? “Because I’m gonna assume that Rorish isn’t it. I don’t recognize it. And Eastover was a small town…”

She didn’t want to tell him what it was now.

She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to know.

“It’s Hollis.” Well there, she said it, it was out there.

She could practically see the wheels turning in his head and then he smiled.

“I remember you!” Oh no, that wasn’t a good sign. “You and Brandy used to always run around with that little girl with the glasses, her brother was killed by that drunk driver.”

“Rachel.” She couldn’t believe that they he remembered her.

Now she was going to be racking her brain to try and remember him as well.

“Yeah, Rachel.” He nodded his head as he paused for a minute, watching as the waiter placed their food on the table before walking away. “She was a sweet girl. Her brother was a punk though. Used to pick on Ed all the time.”

She didn’t remember much about Rachel’s brother, just that they had been 10 when the accident had happened.

Rachel had been pulled from school for the rest of the year and when she returned in the fall she was a completely different girl.

She was all of a sudden much too classy for her and Brandy.

How you could be classy in a town like Eastover she would never understand.

“I don’t remember you.” She didn’t even recognize his name, not at all. “You said were 14 when you left?”

“Yeah, right before my 15th birthday actually.” She closed her eyes as she tried to think back. “Moving to Maryland was a last ditch effort for my mom. She only lived another three months after that. Robbie and I wanted dad to go back to Columbia but he had already made a commitment at Fort Meade. Then he took the transfer to Raleigh.”

“What year was that?” She thought maybe that would help her connect the dots.

“We left in January of ’87.” He took a sip from his beer as his eyes hardened a little. “I turned 15 that March, mom died in April.”

“I turned 13 that January…” She still wasn’t having any luck remembering him though and it killed her.

He knew who she was, so she must have some memory of him somewhere.

“Yeah. You were a cute girl.” He winked at her and smiled, her heart skipping a beat. “Wish we had gone back, I’d probably have looked you up, asked you out.”

She felt her whole world come to a screeching halt.

Did he just say that he would have asked her out, even back then?

What a small and crazy goddamn world they lived in.

“I wish I could remember if I would have said ‘yes’.” He chuckled before grabbing a chip from the plates in front of them, taking a bite as he waited for her to continue.

But she couldn’t think of anything else to say so she just sighed before grabbing a chip of her own.

She was going to have to do some serious digging through her photo albums when she got home in hopes of finding a picture of a young Ethan Willis.

**Author's Note:**

> **Comments make me happy!**


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